Purple was the overwhelming favorite pick for comb and wattle, and I think it looks great. I chose green eyes to pick up the green in her tail feathers. And I didn’t bother washing/blocking before seaming; her stitches are pretty even, right off the needles. Git. Er. Done.
Eggatha joins her big sister Henelope Aubergina Featherington. I used a US7 needle for Henelope, and a US5 for Eggatha. Eggatha is smaller and stuffed more firmly, which is what I wanted for Emotional Support Chicken #2. Do you ever knit something more than once, because you have an idea for how you’d like it better if you changed something about it?
Henelope and Eggatha, size comparison
And now I guess I should get back to work knitting! I think I’m going to frog my brioche/assigned pooling project and start over, because it’s not quite what I want. Almost there, I hope? The chickens have been a nice diversion while I ponder what happens next. Procrastiknitting for the win!
I finished the Dotty socks yesterday afternoon, and immediately drove them over to my friend Doreen’s house. They’re for her birthday tomorrow, and it’s snowing and icing this weekend. I wanted to beat the weather, and I did!
Dotty Bed Socks for Doreen
I didn’t take an FO picture, but she did! Our planned dinner out tonight is OFF, but at least she’s cozy.
Camellia Wrap and Slip Stripe Socks
This photo popped up in my Facebook memories today. It was blocking day for my Camellia Wrap, and for the unpublished striped bed socks. That Camellia Wrap is one of my favorite things to wear, fantastic drape and swing. And apparently there were two of those striped socks…I wonder where they went? They weren’t in the drawer with the orange/purple prototypes that I frogged. Maybe I already gave them away as a gift? I don’t recall.
One tomato
Remember the Ann Norling Fruit Cap pattern from eons ago? I knit a whole bunch about 20 years ago; they were my go to baby gift for a while. I can’t find the pattern in my house, so I winged it. Pretty close, I think. This is for a baby shower on Monday that may be iced out. Oh, weather.
Two tomatoes
I actually knit two of them because there’s a baby due at church, too. I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red, what a great color. I paired it with Ivy that was leftover in my stash from designing for my Brioche Knit Love book. Rios is one of my favorite yarns. Lovely colors, not expensive.
I knit these on a US7; I started with a US6 but it was firmer than I wanted. I use a 6 for all my Rios brioche, but not for stockinette, I guess!
Inclement weather is great for knitting productivity. Now I only have one project on my needles again (having four was definitely outside my monogamous knitter comfort zone). What are the other two projects? One is done, and I’ll let you know about both of them in a bit.
But I think it’s also time to swatch for the When Harry Met Lucy sweater KAL, finally!
It’s chilly here! I decided to sew in the ends on the mismatched (design prototypes) orange/purple bed socks so they can be of use. But when I pulled them out of the drawer, I noticed the stripe pattern and the dotty pattern resulted in two very differently sized socks. Not okay!
Sock dreams in Malabrigo Rios
I never published the striped socks; the slip stitch stripes were too variable gauge-wise, and the pattern was too fussy to write, too. So the striped sock needed to be frogged back to the cuff, and the dotted sock needed to be frogged back to the instep to get rid of the striped sole. But I like the dotted instep better than the striped instep. (They are both options on the Dotty Bed Sock pattern, see below.) It wouldn’t add much knitting if I ripped out the gusset, too.
Dotty Bed Socks, dot or stripe instep
If you’re wondering why the bottom of the gusset is striped, here’s the designer’s secret: The gusset decreases would complicate working the dotty stitch pattern on the bottom of the foot. I wanted the pattern to be easy knitting! So those are just 2 row stripes where the decreases occur, no thinking.
Dotty Bed Socks, my favorite version!
I’m almost done…
Halfway down the second foot. You can see I’m using magic loop here, which I like, mostly. I think I prefer my Flexi-Flips, but I didn’t think of them until working the toe of the first sock, and I don’t want to change needles mid-project for fear of changing my gauge and having 2 different sized socks again. Next time!
Dotty Bed Socks are worked cuff down with a slip stitch pattern, so there’s only one color used per round. And they’re worsted weight, so they’re pretty quick! My socks are 44 stitches around in Malabrigo Rios.
Do you sock? How do you sock? Cuff down? Toe up? DPNs? Magic Loop? Two circulars? Flexi-Flips? Do tell!
I just updated my Slip Away Cowl pattern. I’ve added a bonus stitch pattern, Zig Zag Lightning. It uses a nifty cable stitch to zigzag the slipped stitches.
Zig Zag Lightning
I also updated the single garter stitch edge to a 2 stitch knit-in i-cord edging. I really like it; you can see it on the edges of the swatch above. You probably won’t see much of it when the cowl is worn, but it’s a great skill to have in your knitting toolbox. It’s not just for slip stitch knitting. It looks especially nice on garter stitch.
Slip Away Cowl
I enjoyed knitting this new sample, after I finally settled on colors. This is English Rose and Liquidambar in Malabrigo Rios.
I originally designed the Slip Away Cowl as a teaching piece. The cowl is knit with two colors of worsted weight yarn. It features six easy slip stitch patterns; you get fun colorwork while using just one color per row. It’s knit flat, and then joined together at the end. This is a great way to get your cowl to be exactly the length you want. This is my favorite cowl length for wearability. The pattern includes tips on using these stitch patterns in the round, too.
The updated Slip Away Cowl pattern is available on Ravelry and Payhip. If you purchased this from me (not The Knitting Circle) previously, you’ll see the updated pattern available to you there. I’ll leave the original pattern there too, in case you prefer the previous garter edge. If you’re new to Slip Away, use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through September 25, 2023.
Dotty Bed Socks
If you love slip stitch, also consider my Dotty Bed Socks. They’re a quick knit in worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios for these, too. They’re knit from the cuff down, and have a flap and gusset heel turn. Magic! You can knit the top of the instep in either Dotty or stripes; instructions for both are in the pattern. The Dotty Bed Socks pattern is available through Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through September 25, 2023.
I do love knitting with two colors, one at a time. It’s like…brioche! Which is on my needles again, finally. More on that, soon.
Again, I’m supposed to be packing, but instead I’m playing with knit-in i-cord edges for my Slip Away Cowl. You can barely see them on the right side of the fabric.
Malabrigo Rios, Solis and Liquidambar
But they’re pretty obvious on the wrong side! They’re very tidy and I love them. I’m revamping the pattern to include them, and adding an extra slip stitch pattern as a bonus. Soon!
I started the Buggiflooer Beanie a few days ago, adjusting the stitch count based on my known gauge with this yarn.
Katie’s Kep, da Crofter’s Kep, Bonnie Isle
I’ve knit 3 previous Shetland Wool Week hats with Jamieson’s Spindrift, which means I have 3 existing gauge swatches!
I did some math so I could reduce the main stitch count by one flower motif (which would make it an inch smaller than the previous hats), but I goofed up my math between the ribbing and the pink zigzag sections. I only realized it when I got to the next motif (flower), and was off by 4 stitches. Math, blech. I could go back and fudge it, but I I took it as a sign that I should knit a cowl instead of a beanie, anyway. I don’t wear hats very often.
You can see that I shortened the corrugated ribbing a bit when I restarted; I took out one row of each of the colors (white/gray/white) because the ribbing will repeat at the top of the cowl (symmetry!), and I don’t want it to overpower the lovely buggiflooer.
It’s going swimmingly. Look at all those pretty heathered colors in the background color, Mirry Dancer! So much more interesting than flat black. And I made a little braid with my yarn ends, so I don’t accidentally knit with a tail. I know I could weave in ends as I go, but I’m still not completely committed to the project yet.
I recently bought myself a little present…a knitting light. It’s helpful with the black yarn if I’m tinking (I don’t have to see to knit) in bed; the lamp on my nightstand isn’t quite enough. It will also be a hands-free camping light. I tried a different one earlier this month, but it was heavier and clunkier, and prone to accidentally turning on in my bag. I like this one much better!
I need to start packing for the Vogue Knitting Alaska cruise. And of course that means deciding what knitting project will come with me! I’m enjoying Buggiflooer, but I don’t want it to be my main cruise knitting next week. Cruise knitting is social knitting, and counting charted colorwork isn’t conducive to chatting.
My little DK brioche project from the schooner trip isn’t panning out the way I hoped. It was great social knitting, though. I have about 4 inches done, and it’s lovely, but my yarn scale and math are telling me that two skeins won’t get me across the finish line. It won’t be a cost-effective cowl design if it requires 4 skeins of sparkly luxury yarn, so I’ll use this beautiful yarn for a something else later.
I do have an experimental version of this shape under way in fingering weight yarn, and I think that can be completed with two skeins. But I’m not completely committed to it yet, either. I need a backup plan.
Malabrigo Rios in Solis andLiquidambar
Ever since MDK Summer Camp, I’ve been thinking of the elegant knit-in i-cord edging that we put on our mini washcloths (thank you Lorilee Bateman). So tidy! I’m planning to re-knit my Slip Away Cowl before upcoming classes, and play with that i-cord edging. If I like it, I’ll update the pattern to include it. This should be a reasonable social knitting project. Except that I’m monkeying with it a bit…
When you go on trips, what do you pack first? Knitting? Or clothing? I think you can see my priorities all over this page!
Cosette is finished except for the publishing. I’ve also knitted three versions of another design for a June release (no pictures yet). My needles were empty, so it’s time for another project! I’m designing a new hat/cowl project for my class on the Vogue Knitting cruise in August. (Come cruise with me!)
Look at the color of that water. It inspired me to choose this yarn.
Mmmmm, Malabrigo
This is Malabrigo Rios in Azul Profundo and Cian. So pretty! My class is a brioche class, and I’m trying to make it as user friendly as possible. It’s just a 3 hour class, so I have to think about pacing and how to cover everything I want. (You may be thinking about my Deep End hat and cowl, but that’s too much of a quick start for brioche newbies.)
I have this design all planned out, and now I just have to knit and see if it really does what I want, at the pace I want. Wish me luck!
I designed this mini Dotty sock to teach top down sock basics during the Craftsy/Knitting Circle Holiday Virtual Event in December. But I always knew that I’d want to design a full size sock using the Dotty stitch pattern, which I love. Of course they’d be worsted weight socks, because I’m not a skinny yarn sock knitter. And I like quick socks!
I used a two row stripe pattern at the gusset decreases, because it was easier than trying to make those decreases fit into the Dotty stitch pattern. And I liked the way the stripes looked, so much that I put a 2 stitch slip stitch stripe pattern on the sole of the foot. Well. that was so graphic and lovely, I decided that maybe I wanted striped socks instead. So I started those.
I wasn’t sure I had enough of the purple/orange combo to make a third sock, and I wasn’t committed enough to the stripe to frog the first sock, so I started a striped pair in blue. (Thank you stash!) But you can tell that it’s hard to control the stitch gauge with the 2 stitch stripe patten; see how the cuff and the foot are wildly different in width? The gauge is definitely tighter than the Dotty stitch pattern. I wrote up the pattern while knitting the second blue sock, but by the time I was finishing the second sock, I really didn’t want to publish it. Too many caveats about gauge and centering the stripe pattern at the heel for the different sizes. I wanted it to be simple and elegant. Worst of all, they weren’t as cute as I thought they would be.
You can see from the picture above that I moved on to the green all Dotty sock.
After I finished the Dotty sock with the striped gusset, I wondered if the row gauge between the dots and the stripes were too different for me to use dots on top, and horizontal stripe on the bottom where the decreases happen. Only one way to find out. So I tried it. And it was fine. Then I had to decide which I wanted for MY pair.
Which meant I had to knit a third sock, so I’d finally have a complete matching pair. And an extra. And that’s how I ended up knitting 7 socks before I had a complete pair.
The Dotty Bed Sock pattern has both insteps, so you can choose which one you like best. But the striped sock? Not gonna happen…even though I had it tech edited. I only want you to have the best!
The SlipSlide code also applies to the Slip Away Cowl, through January 8. It’s been a slip stitch party!
And the Sheepy Steeky Coasters are still 15% off with code COASTING through January 8, too. If you’re looking for a low stakes introduction to steeking, this is it. Coasting into 2022, one stitch at a time.
I’ll show you what’s on my needles in the next post. Although by then, it may be off. I’m knitting up a storm of garter stitch, and thinking about more! What are you knitting in 2022?
Apologies to Devo, and you’re welcome for the earworm.
Introducing two new slip stitch designs, the Slip Away Cowl, and Dotty Bed Socks!
Slip Away Cowl
I designed the Slip Away Cowl as a teaching piece for The Knitting Circle’s Holiday Virtual Event, and now I can share it with you, too. The cowl is knit with two colors of worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios. It features five easy slip stitch patterns; you get fun colorwork while using just one color per row. It’s knit flat, and then joined together at the end. This is a great way to get your cowl to be exactly the length you want. This is my favorite cowl length for wearability. The pattern includes tips on using these stitch patterns in the round, too. The Slip Away Cowl pattern is available on Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through January 8, 2022. If you’re taking the Slip Away Class at January’s Virtual Knitting Live, the pattern is included in your class fee in January only, so don’t buy it twice!
Dotty Bed Socks
The Dotty Bed Socks are a quick knit in worsted weight yarn; I used Malabrigo Rios for these, too. They’re knit from the cuff down, and have a flap and gusset heel turn. Magic! You can knit the top of the instep in either Dotty or stripes; instructions for both are in the pattern. The Dotty Bed Socks pattern is available through Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code SlipSlide for 20% off, through January 8, 2022.
If you’re a newsletter subscriber, check your email for a combo offer!
I do love knitting with two colors, one at a time. It’s like…brioche! Which I’ll get back to, eventually. For now, I’m knitting madly on my garter stitch Cherry Blossom Wrapture, which is also…one color at a time! Happy happy new year to you.
I know we use the heel stitch to make the heel of socks a bit thicker; slipping every other stitch gives us a double layer of yarn over the heel. So for a bed sock, why not used slipped stitches to make the whole thing doubly thick and cozy?
I finished one, almost. I won’t commit to grafting that toe until I’m done playing with my stitch patterns! I have a Dotty slip stitch pattern on the leg of the sock, but I didn’t want that underfoot. Even though this is intended to be a bed sock (worsted weight, warm), I didn’t want those bumps on the sole. At first I tried using the double stitch stripe on the whole foot, but it was hard for me to carry the floats loosely. I put them just on the sole.
But the heart wants what the heart wants. As you can see, now I’m trying the stripes on the leg first, to see if I can keep things loose enough there. If yes, then I can do it on the foot, too. I kind of love the idea of vertical stripes on leg and foot, and a band of horizontal stripes across the gusset shaping. (Partly because working the decreases into the vertical stripe pattern seemed like a pain in the…foot? But I’ll think about it again when I get there on the second sock.) Also, I want the purple foot stripe to begin right after a purple gusset stripe, and end right before the purple toe. I don’t like the purple bar floating against the orange background. See how nice it looks snugged up to the ribbing on the second sock?
Do I want to explain all of this in a pattern, or just make these for myself for fun? It would be a quick gift knit.
I love these colors. Malabrigo Rios, in Lavanda (purple) and Archangel. It feels like fall to me. And I’m sitting here in the backyard, making the most of a gloriously sunny day. Rain tomorrow!
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 